covid19- week 32: we're moving!

it has been an absolute whirlwind rollercoaster few days. 

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jon & i moved into our home when lucy was 17 months old and i was 7 months pregnant with eloise. we sold our first home in a snowstorm and began again here 6.5 years ago. this home, and this neighborhood being so close to the public school, have been such a comfortable, safe place to raise these little girls in their early childhood years. jon & i have dreamed about where we want to be location-wise for the last several years [many of these ideas have been documented throughout my posts], and we've truly been allll over the map- closer to their grade school [we're a 15 minute drive now], closer to the high school they'll go to [which is across the state line into missouri], if we want to downsize, have more land... 

over the summer, we zoned in on two neighborhoods within a reasonable drive to school and activities and have been watching both closely. they're both similar in that they have loads of trees and interesting architecture with no 2 homes alike. both neighborhoods have swimming beaches and wooded walking trails, which we love. over the last few months, we've walked homes in the first neighborhood, and were looking seriously at a particular home that we knew was going to be ready for sale in the coming months. 

last week, jon saw a listing for a house in the 2nd neighborhood that he loved enough to show me- rare in itself! the home sits on a wooded lot, and backs up to the 11th hole of one of his favorite golf courses. we contacted our realtor, and everything has been crazy and exciting since! right before we went to tour the house, the owners accepted a contingent offer on it. we toured the home knowing this, and absolutely fell in love with the house, the lot and the location. we have a truly outstanding realtor, and long story short- after 2 nail-biter days, we got the house! we were just beside ourselves [still are] ... and also tasked with selling our own home. 

we spent the next 2 days getting the house ready to go live on MLS. the house hit the market wednesday at midnight, i lost count of how many tours went through, we were fortunate to have multiple offers, and by the time we went to sleep wednesday night, our house was signed over. 

we have inspections at our new home today. i'm relieved, grateful and don't take one bit of this for granted. we know st. joseph is working powerfully for us. 

most of our work has taken place while the big girls are in school, so betsy's been along for the ride!

a couple of favorite pictures from our current home that were taken for the listing-

and a few favorites from our new home-

last night, i came home from school pick up and dance drop off to this! whew. 

we're thankful for this new chapter for us. and i think it's important to note that this is all surface stuff. we don't bring any of this with us when we exit this earth. i'm grateful, of course, but i know that at the end of the day, my family and friends' health and well-being is the true indicator of joy and life's fulfillment. 

xoxo, 

-ivy